Past, Present, Forever
by bibochan
Summary: He lived his life in an artisticly beautiful way. Even though he was hurt and held hatred toward others, he loved and was loved in return... even after his death. This is Deidara's life... ItaDei *Sorry! On hold!*
1. Childhood

1WOOT! Meh first story! Yay!

cough, cough Anyway...

Disclaimer: Don't own Itachi, or Deidara, or any other of Kishimoto-san's wonderful characters...but I do own meh own lovely Dei-chan! I am her Danna... 3

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It was growing dark as he perched on a cliff outside of Iwagakure, his former home, and watched the clouds roll by on the wind. The rock nin could no longer call that village his home. He brushed away his blond hair that had blown in his face and recollected on his past.

His life was fine, his mother and father both loved him and that was how he liked it. Back then, he didn't seem to care if anyone thought bad about his 'deformity.' However, one day his father, being the highly skilled and respected shinobi that he was, had gone off on a mission. He waited patiently for his father's return. He would continue to wait... One day, his mother received a message from another shinobi and she broke down once the man was gone. He asked his mother what was wrong and she replied through sobs, embracing tightly, "Deidara...your father is... dead." He couldn't do anything besides just stand there, shocked and left dumbfounded, stiff in his mother's arms as she wept for the loss of her beloved husband.

The next day, Deidara awoke solemnly and tense as there seemed something wrong; his mother did not come to wake and greet him like she usually did. He figured she was still depressed so he decided to draw her a loving picture to comfort her. He searched through the house calling her, "Kaa-chan! Kaa-chan, un! ...Kaa-chan!!" He found his mother hanging in the closet, unable to cope with life without her love.

Since then, Deidara, only ten now, had been orphaned, homeless, and alone. Now, he also had to come to terms with how the other villagers felt about him. "Its not right for someone to have mouths on their hands, plus, its just downright disgusting!" He had to live and go to school with these words andtaunting and teasing from the other children. Even the teachers refused to give him any form of peace with their demeaning looks and comments. He finally just stopped going to school and just wanted to be left alone. He made himself a small shelter in a cave on the side of a nearby mountain, hidden by a large tree. He wanted to continue with his art aa well, going out one day and gathering clay. He made a small stock of it inside his 'home' and started to try it out. Having never used clay previously, it was amazing to him, how it squished between his fingers, being able to mold into anything he could imagine. Then, something awkward started to happen...the mouth on his hand started to eat the clay! As it chewed, he could feel his chakra flowing to his hand. After a good minute or so, it spat the clay back out. Thinking this strange, he continued to mold it. Seeing a bird outside, he felt inspired and made a small model of it with the clay. Somehow, before his very eyes, the bird in his palm came to life and took flight. It joined its real-life counterpart and soared through the skies along with it. An idea popped into the boy's head as he remembered feeling his chakra rushing to where the clay had been chewed. He put his hands together in the common jutsu hand sign, focused his energy and yelled the appropriate word for focus, "Katsu!" His flying creation then exploded with the ferocity of the chakra put into it, taking the living bird down with it.

Since that day, he trained himself to work with these explosives that so fascinated him while keeping up with his art at the same time. He taught himself to make various types of birds, insects, and spiders; all with their own different abilities. His favorites were the birds which would expand to a giant size that he would ride on. Some of the villagers had taken notice of his actions and informed the Tsuchikage. He issued an order to bring the boy back into the village, give him proper training as an official ninja, and have the black ops help him perfect his chakra control and his explosive creations.

The boy was taken in and trained beyond his limits. He was sent on mission after mission, bombing enemies and, eventually, being able to destroy entire enemy villages with a single bomb. He realized he had different levels of chakra: C1-C3. He learned to control what kind and how much of it he wanted to use to create different explosive types. He had just returned from a very trying mission, wanting only to feel the relaxing warmth of the hot springs. On his way, he passed the residence of the rock country's beloved Tsuchikage. He stopped and his, masking his chakra, when he heard two others coming out of the tower. He saw his personal sensei walking along with the Tsuchikage.

"Keep training Deidara and make him strong. He will be the Rock's greatest weapon against its enemies."

"What about after the war is over, sir?"

"By that time, we will have taken over much of our surroundings and expanded the rock country's boundaries. We will have many other strong ninja; he will be of no more use to us. When we're done with his abilities...kill him."

"Yes sir..."

Deidara couldn't believe what he had just heard. They were using him like a worthless pawn. He desired more than anything to be wanted and needed, but not in such a way as this. He would get them back for what they have done and show them exactly what kind of monster they actually created. But first, he was dirty, smelly, and in desperate need of a bath.

The next day, he awoke at around six a.m., an hour earlier than his alarm was set for. Figuring he couldn't go back to sleep with enough time for it to be effective, he turned his alarm off, showered, dressed, and started chewing up some clay in one of his hands. He molded it and let it loose to expand into one of his larger birds which he rode up into the sky to watch the sunrise and ponder on just how he would exact his revenge. As he watched the sun inch up from the horizon and marveled at its artistic beauty, he scanned over Iwagakure. It was actually a very nice village with very artistic architecture. A bit later, judging by the position the sun was currently in, he felt it was now time to head over and report to his sensei.

As he walked into the room, hewas greeted by his sensei and given a new mission from the Tsuchikage.

"He wants you to travel to our neighbor village and destroy it. You know how it goes. Don't let yourself be discovered."

"Yes Sensei, un."

Deidara smiled inwardly as he was given a perfect opportunity to exact his revenge on everyone who had wronged him and ruined his childhood.

He flew back to his home and stocked up on his clay and packed what little belongings he had. Jumping back onto the massive clay bird, he soared high over the village while preparing some clay with his hands. He then let loose hundreds of clay spiders to flood the streets and then another couple hundred birds to fill the skies. Oh yes, he would destroy a village. Unfortunately, it wasn't the one they intended...

He sighed, preparing himself for what was about to come. Putting his hands together to make the appropriate hand sign, he paused, smirked, focused on one single bird and yelled, "KATSU!" The bird combusted in a beautiful artisric blend of red, orange, yellow and white causing a chain reaction, startling the other birds and causing them to explode as well. One of the birds and flown down close to the spiders in the streets before it exploded creating a domino effect of explosives, destroying everything on the ground. Deidara sat on the back of his bird, high and away from harm and speculated on just how beautifully and artistically his former home ceased to exist. Nothing lasts forever. True art is short and fleeting and it can only be appreciated for that veryshort time before it withers and dies. And true art dies beautifully. Deidara would take these words to heart and never forget them.

Well? How'd you like it? I love comments and appreciate constructive criticism! Thanks for reading! Gonna try and get the next chapter up soon!

Bibochan! 3


	2. Akatsuki

1Yay! Chapter 2! I was so happy when I got the nice reviews! I'm glad people like this. Oh! And in my original write-up, I lost all creative flare whatsoever and the battle scene was really, REALLY crappy and bleh...so I re-did it...hope its okay.

Okay, Disclaimer:

I don't own Naruto stuffs...yet.

All right! STORY START!!

A few years short of a decade passed. He was seventeen now, arrogant as hell, not to mention a bit hyper. However, he had grown into a very handsome, some would say even feminine, young man with sunshine blond hair and eyes that resembled the sky. He had refined his skills having been very practiced over the years, having employed himself as a terrorist bomber for hire.

He sat up from his position looking up at the sky, which was now dark, cloudless, and filled with the lights from the cosmos. "That's enough recollecting on my past for now, un," he said to himself while patting any dirt from his clothes. He combed through his long hair with his fingers to get out any dirt and straightened his ponytail; he had taken to pulling up the top of his hair into a high ponytail and parting the rest to hang over the left side of his face. He lightly ran his hands down his sides and felt the gentle sloping of his curves, slightly grimacing at how his body had become as effeminate as it was. His muscles were not bulky so he didn't have a very wide chest or broad shoulders, his waist was thin, and his hips had developed a bit more than he would have preferred. He was a man with curves and, with his hair and softer facial features, would commonly be mistaken for a woman before one actually head his voice; which was surprisingly and contrastingly deep. But, he was actually a bit glad he turned out like he did. Enemies would focus on his looks and under-estimate his abilities, giving him the upper hand in almost every battle.

He created on of his large birds, jumped onto its back, and flew off to the nearest village to take shelter for the night in a nice little inn. He landed near the outskirts of the village and lept the short distance from the bird to make contact with the ground. Before he could start making his way there, a man clad in a high-collared, black cloak with red, rolling clouds and sporting a straw traveling hat with a bell appeared before him out of the shadows. Deidara felt an ominous sensation about the stranger and mentally cursed himself for not detecting his chakra sooner.

"Deidara of Iwagakure," the mysterious man spoke, "you are classified as an S-ranked criminal missing-nin in the Bingo Book."

"And just what are you, a bounty hunter, un?"

"Not quite. I am a member of an organization of other S-rank criminal ninjas such as yourself. We are known as Akatsuki."

"..."

"Our leader has heard of your accomplishments...especially how you destroyed Iwagakure and killed the Tsuchikage at such a young age. You really are something, I must say."

"What's your point, un?"

"Leader-sama wishes for you to become part of Akatsuki."

"Well, you can tell your _'Leader-sama'_ I said no thanks, un."

"I'm afraid he insists."

"Well that's too bad. What are you gonna do about it, un?"

"I'll make you come with force."

"Heh, let's see you try, un!"

Deidara dug his hands into his clay-filled pouches and jumped back onto his bird. As he shot off into the sky, he let loose a handful of grasshoppers, of which the cloaked man did not notice. Soaring high in the sky, he threw a couple of birds at the Akatsuki. The man threw kunai at the birds, destroying them, but not soon enough as the resulting shockwave caused him to slightly lose his footing. The blond took advantage of the opportunity and swooped down to knock the Akatsuki back with the bird's tail feathers. In the same motion, he let loose a large centipede which coiled itself around the man. As soon as he was out of the danger zone, Deidara yelled, "Katsu!" The Akatsuki blew up in a blast of smoke making the blond smirk at the beauty of it. His smirk turned to a frown as he noticed, as the smoke cleared, a lone log, charred, and still burning, had replaced the man. "Dammit, substitution, un," the blond cursed to himself. He felt a slight flare of chakra and whipped his head around to find the Akatsuki right behind him motioning hand signs and attacking Deidara with an electricity justu. "Don't you know electricity doesn't damage rock, un?" Deidara called out as he motioned to whack away the man with his bird's tail feathers. He knew he had to get the battle over with soon; the shock had caused his arm to go slightly numb, the tongue dangling from his hand. The Akatsuki hit the ground not very gracefully but was able to quickly pick himself back up. The blond took notice of the man's landing spot, being very close to where his grasshoppers were and had them jump and attach themselves to the surprised Akatsuki. He tried to knock them off, but to no avail, before Deidara yelled, "Katsu!" detonating the grasshoppers and injuring the man severely. Realizing he could no longer fight, he said, "You may have won this battle, Deidara-san, but you will become part of Akatsuki whether you want to or not," and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Well, that was annoying, un." Deidara made his way into the village, ordered food at a small noodle shop, purchased a small room in a local inn and laid down on the bed, pondering on what had just happened to him.

A couple of days later, he was wandering around the same village looking at the various shops, aimlessly, from shop to shop. Nothing really caught his eye; none it had any artistic flare whatsoever in his opinion. As he walked on, something did catch his eye; a black cloak with red clouds, billowing in the wind. Deidara snuck to a more secluded area where his actions were a bit more inconspicuous and leapt off, using his chakra to push himself further.

He led the new Akatsuki to a clearing outside the village. This Akatsuki, Deidara noticed, was clad in the same manner as the last and he could not make out what the man looked like.

"So, you've bested my comrade. I'm impressed, however, you cannot defeat me. So either make it easier on both of us and join Akatsuki or make me have to force you."

"I think I'll make you force me, un."

"You arrogant little brat! I don't know what Leader-sama sees in you."

They fought a battle, unfortunately for Deidara, that was similar to the previous one with him besting yet another Akatsuki. "Its not much of an evil organization if they're all this weak, un...," he sighed and continued on with his previous activities.

Within the next couple of weeks, Deidara had been confronted by three more Akatsukis. He was able to take them all out, but he believed they seemed to be getting stronger. They could never beat him though. They lacked that particular artistic style. One day, Deidara had just landed in another village, used the bathhouse and purchased a room from an inn. After yet another refreshing bath, the blond chose to explore the village and see what it had to offer. He just looked around all day, didn't really see anything that caught his fancy, and decided to cut through an alleyway to get back to the inn so he could snuggle down into the nice, warm sheets. Something stopped him, dead in his tracks, clearing his mind of all other thoughts. A flare of chakra. Deidara turned to find yet another Akatsuki. This one was different though, he seemed much more ominous.

"I know what you want. I already beat your friends. Can't you take a hint, un? I don't want to be in your stupid organi-"

This Akatsuki did something that caught Deidara completely off guard. He took off his traveling hat to reveal his face to the blond. He looked Deidara's age, if not a year or so older. He had long, black hair, neatly tied back in a low ponytail. Bangs, parted in the middle to show his headband: the leaf of Konohagakure, with a rather large slash through the symbol. His ruby red eyes shone bright against his pale skin, two lines, indentions in his shin to better his eyesight Deidara figured, making their way down from his eyes.

"You may have defeated my comrades, but I suggest you don't me along with them," he spoke in a deep, intimidating voice.

"We'll see about that, un."

"We shall..."

The Akatsuki bore his crimson gaze down into Deidara's pools of azure. Almost losing himself in them, the blond shook his head and sent his birds flying towards him, but when they exploded, the Akatsuki's body dispersed into dozens of black ravens. "No way, un... genjutsu," he muttered, dumbstruck. He had never been face to face with a skilled genjutsu user before. The ravens flurried around and reformed into the man right in front of Deidara. He saw that the man's eyes were not only red, but bore three black commas around each iris.

"A kekkei-genkai, un...," he muttered, slight shock and intimidation playing in his voice.

"Well, you're not as dumb as you look. Now, experience my Tsukuyomi," he said and peered deeply into Deidara's eyes.

Deidara closed his eyes and opened them again to realize that the world around him was in black and white; a red sky hung overhead. But these were no the surroundings he was familiar with, they were those of his childhood home in Iwagakure. He looked down at himself and saw that he was a child again. Looking up, he saw his father give him a sweet smile and stoop down to pick him up, just as he remembered his father used to. But before his father could even reach for him, he spat crimson and collapsed onto the stone floor, weapons embedded in his back.

"No!" he cried, "Too-chan! Too-chan, no, un!" He broke into sobs, embracing his father, whom he had now lost for a second time.

"Deidara, sweetheart, its okay, everything's fine, Kaa-chan's here," came the voice of his beloved mother.

"Kaa-chan! Too-chan's dead, un!"

"I know sweetie," and with that, she stepped off her stool to dangle in the closet, just as Deidara remembered last seeing her.

"Kaa-chan! No, un!"

Deidara cried frantically, sobbing, squatting down, clutching his head and clenching his eyes shut.

"Such terrible memories," the Akatsuki muttered, eyes changing from red back to their origional coal color, staring blankly at the blond who lay unconscious on the ground, his mind shattered. He replace the traveling hat back on its proper place on his head, stooped down to scoop up the blond, slinging him over his shoulder. Having completed his mission, he headed back to the Akatsuki hideout

.

Well, that's chapter 2! Finally! I was so frustrated typing this. I had to type it twice because the first time it accidentally got deleted right before I got to save it. Hope the battle scene was okay. I thought it was a bit crappy, but then again I have a tendency to judge myself harshly. Anyway, hope you enjoyed it! Reviews are appreciated! Thanks!


	3. Meeting Danna

Alright! Third Chapter! Woot! I wanted to make a quick shout out to two people right quick who really mean a lot to me. Also, I highly recommend their stories.

First off, an author who I love very much and has given me so much support and love:

Itachi'sEBILcuppycake, aka, Cake-chan.

And the best for last. The one who means more to me than anyone else, who loves and cares for me as much as I do for her, my bestest friend ever:

AlchemyGaara, aka, my Dei-chan.

Thanks so much you two! I love you!

Oh, and sorry for the lengthy explanations. You guys may know this stuff already, but Deidara doesn't.

Quick Disclaimer: Don't own shit 'cept these words!

On with the story!

--

Deidara awoke, his head spinning. It was heavy as he tried to lift it from the not so soft pillow. He cracked his eyes open and observed his new surroundings.

He was in a room, rather bland, having only the essential furniture and bare walls. The bed he was in wasn't the best in the world, but any bed would feel nice to him given his current condition. He couldn't exactly move, so he just resorted to thinking, even though it hurt his head.

'Who was that guy? He was really powerful. His movements and abilities were so artistic. I've never seen someone as artistic as him. He's like art itself in human form. He was really good looking too...wait, what?'

"So, you're finally awake."

Deidara looked over to see a man who looked about twenty, shorter than him, he could tell, with short, red, wavy hair and walnut eyes. He was also clad in the Akatsuki cloak.

"How long have I been out, un?"

"About a week."

"A week , un?! What happened?"

"Leader had sent for you to be captured and brought here. We wanted to test your strength so we sent a few subordinates of ours under my mind control jutsu to see just who we would actually need to send to apprehend you. You should be glad you defeated those first few. If not, you would've been disposed of."

"What happened to the ones I beat? And who was the one who beat me, un?"

"The subordinates you beat, very easily I might add, were killed. Even though they were subordinates, they proved too weak to be even that. As for the one who defeated you, that was our member, Itachi Uchiha. He used a genjutsu on you and brought you here where you were initiated as the new member of Akatsuki."

"But I don't want to be a part of Akatsuki, un!"

"I'm afraid you'll just have to accept it. Its either that or be killed. I'd prefer the former if I were you."

Deidara just lowered his gaze in agreement. He would just have to do as he's told and make the best of it.

"Who are you, un?"

"My name is Sasori, the puppet master of Akatsuki. I'm from Sunagakure. I'll also be your partner from here on out."

"Partner, un?"

"Akatsuki is divided into pairs. The current pairs are: Leader and Konan, Hidan and Kakuzu, Itachi and Kisame, Zetsu is by himself and I was teamed with Orochimaru who left, so you'll be my new partner."

"You can just leave, un?"

"No. We're trying to track him down. Once we find him, we'll kill him."

"Oh, ...so, what are the other members like, un?"

Sasori sighed, growing tired of answering Deidara's questions. He figured he could just make it quick and get it out of the way.

"Lets see... we don't know much about Leader; Konan is from the Amegakure and makes herself into origami paper; Itachi is from Konohagakure, controls fire, and is a master genjutsu user, as you already know; Zetsu is from Kusagakure and is, in short, a cannibal; Kisame is from Kirigakure and is one of the great seven swordsmen of the Mist; Kakuzu is is a bounty hunter from Takigakure; we don't know where Hidan's from, but he's an extremely religious sadist who is immortal; and I am an artist of the desert who makes my puppets from the strongest enemies I've slain."

He sat back, content with his explanation, hoping the blond before him would not make him talk more.

"That's cool! I'm an artist too, un!"

"Really?" Sasori asked, looking up at him, his interest in the blond now sparked in the hope he would be a good new partner.

"Yeah, un! I make clay animals that explode!"

"Oh," Sasori said, discouraged, "I thought you were a real artist. True art endures through time with beauty and grace. It is eternal."

"No its not, un! True art is fleeting and dies beautifully!"

That hurt him. Deidara truly believed in his view of art not to mention his brain was pounding in his skull from yelling.

"I guess its true what they say about dumb blonds. I hope you don't make that saying even more true."

And with that, Sasori left Deidara to his own thoughts. 'I'm not dumb! My art is perfect! What does Sasori know? He's the dumb one! I'll show both of them! Sasori and Itachi!'He hated the fact that Itachi beat him and wanted to prove he was better by beating Itachi's eyes with his art.

Deidara had recovered and was given and Akatsuki uniform. The Leader, whose face Deidara could not see, made a deep slash through the rock symbol on his headband. "It is to represent that you have svered the ties with your shinobi village," he said and gave Deidara a ring. It was a silver band with a turquoise circle and the kanji for 'seiryu, azure dragon' on it. "You absolutely must wear this ring at all times. Also, you must wear it on your right index finger. It is imperative that you NEVER take it off."

The Leader gave Deidara a few days to adjust to life at the Akatsuki base. He was given his own room which he was able to decorate to his liking. "Its done, un," Deidara spoke, contentedly as he stood back to admire the finished product of his room. He had purchased a royal purple shade of paint for his walls along with new bed sheets and pillow cases and some stands and shelves for his future sculptures. It was a bit simple, but he really didn't need much. A knock at the door caused him to jump and snap out of his admiration for his artistic new living space. He opened it to find Sasori. At this point, Deidara took the opportunity to notice just how short the redhead was compared to him. He seemed to only come up a few inches past his shoulder. "Deidara-san," Sasori spoke, annoyance in his voice knowing Deidara's present thoughts, "we're a team now. I am the superior, though, so you will refer to me as such. I want us to be able to work smoothly and be able to cooperate well on missions. I'm going to go training tomorrow morning around eight and I want you to participate. Don't be late. There's nothing I despise more than being made to wait," and he turned on his heel and left Deidara standing in the doorway. "Okay, un," he said to where Sasori was standing and closed the door. Walking back into his room, he noticed the time on his clock and decided to go to bed, setting his alarm to give him enough time to wake up fully and get ready for training with his new Sasori-danna.

--

Whelp! That was chapter three! Whadija think?

le sigh I write how I speak...contracting words, butchering the English language...oh well!

Anyway, Sasori talked a lot in here. Well, he had to explain everything to Deidara.

Reviews are appreciated! Thanks!


	4. Overcoming the Sharingan

Fourth Chapter! Yay!

Nothing much to say. My house is going to be packed for the rest of the summer so it'll be a bit harder for me to find the time to update. I'll still try and put up a chapter weekly.

Disclaimer!: I don't own Jack! Whoever he is…

On with the story!

--

He awoke the next morning greeted by the warm rays of the sun spilling through his window. Thanks to the new sheets and pillow he bought to replace the old ones that had been there for he didn't want to know how long, the bed was actually pretty comfortable. He didn't want to leave the pleasant feeling of his bed. He cracked his eyes open to peer at his clock.

"Ten 'o clock, un!" he yelled, bolting upright and springing out of bed. He ran to the bathroom in his room and took the fastest thorough shower known to mankind, threw on his clothes, and sprinted out of the hideout. "Sasori-danna is going to kill me, un!"

He stopped suddenly when he heard something. A faint thud. He went over to examine where the sound had come from and found a few shuriken embedded in a tree trunk. He quickly masked his chakra and dove behind a nearby tree when he sensed someone coming.

Itachi Uchiha strode over and extracted the metal stars from the trunk and continued with his training. Deidara watched the raven from his hiding place admiring his speed and skills with a hint of jealousy.

'He's so artistic,' he thought, 'but then again, he thinks he's so cool and powerful 'cause he's got those _sharingan eyes_. He may have beaten me once, but that was only because I had my guard down. I'll show him that art can beat that dumb sharingan! Oh, wow! That was pretty cool.'

Deidara knew he had to meet Sasori, but he just couldn't seem to tear his gaze away from the Uchiha. He watched him for hours, which only seemed like minutes to him, as he trained, stopped to eat a small lunch he had packed, and continued with his training before stopping again, getting a drink, and heading back to the hideout. Deidara turned around, his back against the tree, and slumped down, sighing. He hated the fact that Itachi had defeated him, but he just couldn't seem to help but stop and stare as his heart pounded hard against his chest every time the raven wandered into his vision.

He sat and contemplated on the matter when an angry Sasori snapped at him, ripping him away from his thoughts.

"Where were you?! I told you eight, didn't I? Its six in the evening! What the hell have you been doing?! I've been looking everywhere for you!"

"I'm sorry Sasori-danna, un. I woke up late and then I got side-tracked, un."

"I don't want to hear your pointless excuses Deidara. I told you I hate waiting more than anything else. And waiting _and looking_ for you has gotten me so pissed today that I just want to rip out your guts and make you into one of my puppets while you're still alive!"

"I'm sorry, un! I don't know what else to say!"

"Don't ever let it happen again. Okay?"

"Yes, un."

And with that, Deidara got up and walked with Sasori back to the base. During the walk, Sasori was able to calm himself back to his normal, relaxed composure and they both conversed on topics besides what had happened that day.

When they got back inside, Sasori excused himself to go to his room to read. Deidara realized he hadn't eaten anything today and decided that he wanted to fill his empty stomach. He walked into the kitchen and started to make himself some pork grilled gyoza. It was pretty much his favorite food and he was virtually starving so he cooked a lot. He could feel his stomach turning, growling in anticipation at the smell that wafted through his senses.

"That smells good," a voice spoke over his shoulder.

Deidara didn't want anyone else to eat his food besides him. He turned to deny the speaker the morsels in the frying pan and saw that the source of the voice was none other than his latest obsession, Itachi Uchiha. He stared, almost frozen in place, at the raven before him. Said raven cocked an eyebrow at the blond, bringing him back to his senses.

"Thanks, un. You…want some?"

"Please."

When the gyoza were done, Deidara made a batch of dipping sauce, put them on a platter, and both men sat down to dine on the blond's cooking. Being as hungry and impatient as he was, Deidara was the first to grab one and shove it in his mouth. He could feel his cheeks redden as the inside of his mouth burned, scalded by the fresh food. Slightly panicking, he ran and got a drink of ice cold water. Feeling better, he sat back down while stealing a glance at Itachi. He was staring at him with slight amusement playing in his onyx eyes, a tiny hint of a smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth.

"Its not going to go anywhere Deidara-san. Perhaps you should wait for it to cool."

They ate in silence, Deidara feeling very embarrassed.

After the meal, they cleaned up and parted ways for the night. When he knew he was far enough away for Itachi not to notice him, Deidara sprinted toward his room, slammed the door shut and locked it. He was in a very irritable mood having disgraced himself in front of Itachi in such a way as that. In order to vent, he flopped down onto his bed and picked up a wad of clay and started to mold whatever crossed his mind. He started to fall asleep in the middle of a bird and resolved that that was enough art for the rest of the night. He changed into his night clothes, cuddled up into the warm covers and let sleep overtake him.

He woke up around seven the next morning, showered, dressed, and ventured down to the kitchen for breakfast. When he got there, he saw Kisame sitting at the table eating cereal and Sasori standing to the stove frying eggs.

"Morning Kisame-san, Sasori-danna, un!"

"Morning Deidara-san," the shark nin replied with a wave.

"Hn," was the redhead's reply, "you want eggs, Deidara?"

"Sure, un! Thanks!"

He gave Sasori a sincere smile as he handed him a plate of two fried eggs, toast, and bacon. Sasori just gave him his usual passive face and joined the two at the table.

Deidara dug into the food and realized Sasori had amazing talent with food.

"This is really good, un! I didn't know you could cook!"

"Well, I have to feed the organic parts of my body."

The blond didn't really know what he meant by the comment but continued on anyway.

"Y'know, Danna, culinary is a type of art."

"I know about art Deidara. I'm not stupid."

"And culinary art is transient being its eaten once its completed. You made temporary art Danna!"

"Shut up Deidara before I shove a fork down your throat."

Cringing slightly, the blond turned his attention to the blue man sitting next to him. Through the meal, he conversed with Kisame about somewhat random topics, asking for an answer from Sasori every so often.

When finished, they cleaned and Deidara joined Sasori to train. The redhead may have been short, in both stature and temper, and was a bit too passive to the blond's liking, seeming like he wouldn't be much of a fighter, but he was extraordinary as he maneuvered his puppets in a practice battle against Deidara.

"How did you get so good, un?" Deidara inquired, panting as he sat down with Sasori for a break.

"Experience," Sasori replied, "I have a lot more experience than you do."

"How, un? I've been training since I was little, un!"

"So have I."

"Sasori-danna…how old are you, un?"

"Forty-two."

"Fourty-two?! You lok twenty, un!"

"Of course. I'm art. I'm immortal. About twenty years ago, I turned myself into a puppet."

"Oh," the blond spoke finally understanding the redhead's comment about organic parts, then something clicked in his mind, "I'm art too, un!"

"No you're not. Petty explosions are not art."

"Yes they are too, un!"

"Let's not start yet another argument Deidara. Instead, let's continue on with our training."

After returning to the Akatsuki base, eating dinner, and parting ways with Sasori for the night, Deidara decided to head over to the lounge area. He was in the mood to become a bit more social with the other members. He set one foot in the room, saw Itachi lounging on the couch, reading, turned in his heel, and made his way up to his room. He did _not _want to become more social with _him. He closed and locked his door and sat on his bed, not being able to his mind wander to the raven again. He thought about how easily he had defeated him. He would prove he was better than him and get his recognition. Than, Sasori's insulting words crossed his mind again. He would also prove to him that his art was better. All at once, he would prove to both of them. He would do what Sasori couldn't and use his art to defeat Itachi's sharingan._

_He would train one of his eyes to sense any kind of genjutsu and defeat it; thus defeating the sharingan! _

_From that day on, he worked day and night, weeks turning to months. He only stopped to train his body with Sasori so as not to lose any of the well built muscle and to go on assigned missions from the leader. He could tell, during the time he spent with Sasori, the puppet had taken a slight liking to him and being a new friend, started to worry for the blond. Deidara simply discarded the redhead's advice of over-exerting himself and taking things too far. _

_He would train his eye every day to the point where he would almost pass out until he was finally finished and satisfied with the outcome. So as not to harm and possibly overuse his new masterpiece, he created a mechanical scope to place over the icy blue that was his left eye, and hid it under his thick layers of gold._

_--_

_There! Its done! WOOT! I noticed I say that a lot…oh, well. I'm gonna be out of town next weekend visiting my lovely Dei-chan and going to a fashion show so I'll either update again on Thursday or Sunday night. Maybe Monday, depending on when I get back. I'm sure I don't have to remind anyone, but reviews are loved! Flames are not. Unless they are from either Ninetails or Flareon. I'm sorry, pokemon moment…_


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